Today was painful.

I don't think I've been that drunk since my freshman year of uni. As my state was completely self induced you all probably have very little sympathy for me but if you want to sympathize with anyone send it Jacks way. He had to deal with me in my semi-comatose state all day.
To put it plainly I was a grumpy ass bitch.

Having failed to keep water down in the morning Jack proceeded to shamelessly drag my ass out of bed to continue being tourists. This time we were on our way to go see the Ancient Imperial Citadel which, even in my severally hungover stupor was pretty freakin cool. Supposedly it was constructed by an Ancient Chinese Emperor as an outpost for their imperial government but was taken back and used as an army base when Vietnam gained its independence. Turned wartime, military stronghold during the Vietnam war the complex is equipped with meter thick walled buildings, bunkers going three stories underground and a classic medieval style moat.

At around eleven we headed over to an old Confucian temple which was pretty but didn't have much to look at or engage with. With a name like

"The Temple of Literature"

you'd expect libraries and books but no, it was just a place where a bunch of old, Confucian scholars are buried.

At this point I admitted defeat, grabbing lunch quickly with Jack before heading back to the hotel to take a nap.

Jack as it happens had slightly more of an interesting afternoon. Heading to sort out a complication with one of our flights he got a motorcycle taxi ride back to the hotel afterwards which in his words was :

"exilerating but terrifying."

Today was our last full day in Hanoi so tomorrow we hopefully catch our plane to Da Nang located more in the central part of Vietnam.

G-

As of the 1972 World Heritage Convention the preservation of cultural monuments such as this have been internationally recognized. "The Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two."
http://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/

Those are all Bonsai tree's, out in the citadel garden. The Citadel has over one hundred Bonsai's scattered around the grounds.

Steps in the inner city leading to a shrine.

The Perfect Hangover Cure